#common earthworm

[vintagewildlife]

Earthworms mating By: Oxford Scientific Films From: The Mating Game 1976

[busterpointisdead]

Day 10 - Common Earthworm (L. terrestris)

I honestly couldn't help but make the silly little joke here, with the big wet eyes... It would make a very silly sticker, no?

[bog-goblin]

Common Earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris)

• Humble • Down-to-earth • Quirky •

Animal Personality Moodboard 5/?

[onenicebugperday]

In honour of me seeing the first worm of the spring/summer season yesterday when it rained, do you have any fun facts or pictures to admire about/of common earthworms? I think they're so neat!

Oh, worm!! Boy it seems late in the year to be seeing a first earthworm! Perhaps you're up north. Anyway WORMS. Very good. The common earthworm is the species Lumbricus terrestris. In the US we often call them nightcrawlers. They’re native to Europe, but are found all over the dang world now. Did you know? Once one was found that was over two feet long. Love an enormous worm. Wish I coulda kissed them.

There’s a myth that you can chop a worm in half and it’ll become two worms, but that’s not true! Worms have a head and vital organs that they need to live. It could probably survive losing some of the back end, but try to avoid chopping them when gardening just in case.

They are considered invasive in many parts of the US, particularly in temperate forests because they disrupt vital nutrient cycles, but at this point they’re so widespread that I don’t think there’s much we can do as individuals.

Anyhoo let’s admire one...

LONG

Mildly iridescent!!!

Excellent :) Photos by marina_gorbunova

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Examining the Common Earthworm

Originally native to western Europe, the common earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) is now found on every continent. They’re especially abundant in North America and western Asia. Where L. terrestris has been introduced, the ecological impacts can range from nonexistent to devastating; in some parts of North America, native earthworms have been severely reduced or gone extinct in competition with nightcrawlers. Common earthworms can also have major effects on the soil composition and leaf litter of their habitats, which in turn effects which plants flourish and which animal species can live there. Meanwhile, common earthworms are now endangered in some parts of Europe due to invasion from the New Zealand flatworm and the Australian flatworm.

Despite their wide distribution, nightcrawlers require specific habitat conditions to be successful. Air temperature and humidity can be neither too low nor too high. They prefer moist soil, which is easier for burrowing in. These conditions lead L. terrestris to prefer forests, grasslands, and some agricultural lands, although they cannot tolerate heavily-tilled earth. Common earthworms can create large, elaborate burrow complexes, sometimes as deep as 2 meters and over 10 meters in length. These burrows are permanent, although prone to disruption from other burrowing animals.

Although many specimens used for fishing bait are small, these worms can grow to be quite long-- anywhere from 11 to 20 cm. Their colors can range from pink to purple to brown, and the body itself is made of 120-170 segments, or annuli, that push and pull together to move. Tiny hairs called setae provide friction against the surrounding soil. They don’t have eyes or ears, but they are able to detect changes in light and their bodies can detect vibrations in the ground, giving them a head start on potential predators like birds, larger insects, small mammals, or eager fishermen.

Nightcrawlers most commonly known as a subterranean species, often found burrowing deep below the earth. However, unlike many other earthworm species, these nightcrawlers actually surface quite frequently to feed and mate- almost always at night. They are detrivores, meaning that they eat primarily dead organic material like leaf litter, fungi or decomposing animal matter. These worms do not usually consume dirt, as is the popular trope, but they do contribute to its production. Nightcrawler excretions are vital for redistributing nutrients to the mineral layer, where it can be used by plants. Their influences are so strong that they can create microhabitats called middens, which can affect the distribution of fungi, plants, and animals in that area.

L. terrestris mates extremely frequently; often once a week. They are obligatorily biparental simultaneous hermaphrodites; this means that each worm has the reproductive capabilities of both males and females. To mate, a worm anchors itself to its burrow then entwines itself with another worm on the surface. They exchange sperm, which can be stored for up to eight months. When the worm is ready to fertilize its eggs, it creates a cocoon which is placed in a small chamber adjacent to the parent’s burrow. Juvenile worms emerge after a few weeks, already fully independent.

Conservation status: Least Concern. Although they are threatened in some of their native regions by New Zealand and Australian flatworms, their overall widespread distribution and adaptable nature means they are unlikely to go extinct anytime soon. The most major threat is habitat destruction due to agriculture.

[arcticarthropod]

ISO somewhere dark and moist.

[onenicebugperday]

here’s a big boi found while gardening for the first time this year! my mom said they were a nightcrawler

Oh, worm! Your mom was right, it’s a nightcrawler, which is just another name for a common earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris. Word on the street is that these dudes can get VERY large - I read about one that was 60cm long, but couldn’t find a credible source to confirm that. There was one in the UK that measured 40cm. His name was Dave, but he is sadly dead now. RIP, Dave. Anyhoo, hope you find more worm friends in the garden going forward!

[mildlycannibalisticalsnails]

29th of November 2024

slo: navadni deževnik

lat: Lumbricus terrestris

eng: common earthworm